Tracker-box for mechanical musical instruments.



W. F. COOPER.

TRACKER BOX FOR MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

AYPLIOATION FILED JULY 18,1906.

1,095,554. Patented May 5, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR A/lomeya COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cc., WASHINGTON, 04 c.

W. F. COOPER.

TRACKER BOX FOR MEGHANIGAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18, 1906.

1,095,554. Patented May 5, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

[NVENTOR Allomeys COLUIIIA rumooum 60.. WASHINGTON n c 5 &. LJ EWM.

W. F. COOPER. TRACKER BOX FOR MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18,1906.

.1 95,554. Patented May 5, 1914.

4 sums-sum s.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, D. c.

W. F. COOPER.

TRACKER BOX FOR MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18,1906.

1,095,554, Patented May 5, 1914.

4 BHEETS-SHEET 4.

COLUKBIA PLANOGRAPN co WASHINGTON. D. :4

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F. COOPER, OF NORWALK, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE A. B. CHASE COMPANY, OF NORWALK, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

TRACKER-BOX FOR MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM F. Coornn, a citizen of the United States of America residing at Nor-walk, in the county of Huron and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tracker- Be-xes for Mechanical Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention has relation to tracker boxes for mechanical musical instruments, and relates in particular to tracker boxes which are pivotally attached to a. support extending from the main portion of the apparatus.

The invention has for its object, the provision of novel means for supporting the tracker box in its elevated or active position in front of the key-board of the piano or other musical instrument to which the playing attachment is applied.

The invention has for its further ()l)]6(l7, the provision of novel means for shifting the actuating mechanism of the tracker box, so as to cause the music roll and the take-up roll to be positively actuated alternately accordingly as the perforated sheet is being wound upon the take-up roll or upon the music roll.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel cover or casing for the actuating mechanism and the tracker box.

The invention has for its further object the provision of novel means for making a connection between manually operable levers attached to a pivoted tracker-box, with a pneumatic action having operative devices to be actuated by said manually operated levers.

A still further object of the invention is to provide improvements in the general construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed,

My improvements are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in the several figures of which like characters are employed to designate corresponding parts, and in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of part of a mechanical playing attachment for musical instruments including as a component part, my improved tracker box, shown conventionally. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a frame constituting a portion of the sta- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 18, 1906.

Patented May 5, 1914.

Serial No. 326,642.

tionary support by which the tracker box is suspended from the other portion of the playing apparatus. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of one end of the tracker box, this view being on an enlarged scale and showing the mechanism for driving the music roll and the take-up roll. Fig. 41 is a perspective view of amovable frame by means of which the tracker box is pivotally attached to the stationary frame shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a vertical central sectional view of the tracker box. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the shifting devices of the tracker box. Fig. 7 is an end view of the tracker box with the end cap removed. Fig. 8 is a rear elevation of the same. Fig. 9 is a front eleation of one of the sprocket wheels of the operating mechanism of the tracker box. Fig. 10 is an edge view of the same wheel. Fig. 11 is a front elevation of another of the sprocket wheels of the operating mechanism of the tracker box. Fig. 12 is an edge view of the wheel shown in Fig. 10. Fig. 13 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the locking bolt by means of which the tracker box is located in its active position. Fig. 1% is a fragmentary perspective view on an enlarged scale of a portion of one of the expression levers. Fig. 15 is a fragmentary perspective view on an enlarged scale of a portion of the tempo lever. Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a removable cover or casing for the operating mechanism of the tracker box, and Fig. 17 is a perspective view of a locking bolt employed in connec tion with the cover or casing shown in Fig. 16. Fig. 18 is across sectional view of a portion of a piano showing the position of the point of pivotal connection of the tracker frame and its supporting frame, the tracker box being shown in its several positlons.

Referring first to Fig. 1 of the drawing, which best shows the general arrangement of parts and the position of the tracker box relatively to the remainder of the playing apparatus, 1 designates the main portion of the playing apparatus which, as it constitutes no part of my present invention, need not be specifically described. This main portion of the apparatus is adapted to be placed within the case of the musical instrument which is to be mechanically operated, and it carries two horizontally disposed supporting bars designated 2 which extend from the main portion 1 of the apparatus to a point without the case of the instrumei'it, just below the key-bed thereof. The bars 2 are cut away on top at their outer ends and indented as shown at 3 to receive the cut-away and indented inner ends 4:, 1- of the frame 5, the frame being provided with holes 6, which receive bolts which screw into the bars 2, 2, and by means of which the frame is rigidly secured to the bars. The frame 5 is formed with depending lugs 7 which are pierced at S to receive bolts 9, by means of which the movable frame of the tracker box is pivotally attached to the frame 5 as will be hereinafter more fully described. The frame 5 is also provided with laterally extending lugs 10, which are pierced as shown at 11, to receive thumb screws which serve to steady the frame, these screws entering the bottom of the key-bed of the instrument to which the apparatus is attached. The frame 5 carries on its outer end pins 12, these pins having their ends beveled and serving, as will be presently described and in connection with a spring actuated bolt, to sustain and lock the tracker box in its elevated or active position.

The tracker box proper is designated 13 and is supported upon a swinging frame 14 which is pivotally attached to the sta tionary frame 5 by the bolts 9, and is sustained in its elevated or active position by a springactuated rocking bolt 15 which has a handle 16 at one end and which has bean ings in lugs 17 formed on the upper surface of the frame 141-. The bolt 15 which is separately shown in Fig. 18 carries two stirrups 18 which engage over the pins 12 when the tracker box is raised and the bolt is caused to turn positively in one direction by means of a torsion spring 19, one end of this spring bearing against one of the lugs 17 on the frame 14 and the other end being bent laterally and extended through the bolt 15 as shown in Fig. 13. Upon one end of the tracker box 18 a removable casing or cover 20 is arranged, this cover inclosing the operating mechanism of the tracker box, and the other end of the tracker box carries a similar cover or casing 21, which latter, however, is without any function other than to render the contour of the tracker box regular and artistic in appearance.

The frame 14 is formed with hinged members 22 on its inner ends which are pierced for the passage of the bolts 9 by means of which this frame is pivotally attached to the frame 5, and the frame 14: is also formed with a cross-bar 23, which cross-bar is provided with holes 26, 27, 28, that serve as bearings for rocking expression levers 2.). 30 and 31. The cross-bar 23 is also formed with a hole 32 which serves as a bearing for a rocking tempo and shifting lever A portion of the expression lever 29 is shown in Fig. 14; and this lever is connected to a rocking shaft 29 by hi11ge-joi11t 2f), the expression levers 80, 31 being respectively connected to rocking shafts 30, 31, by hinge-joints 30, 31.. All the hinge-joints 29, 80, 31 are in substantial alinen'ient with the bolts 9 which constitute the pivotal. connection of the frame 1 1- with the frame 5 and the tempo lever 33 is connected to a rocking shaft by a universal, joint connection which is disposed in alinement with the hinge-joints of the expression levers and their shafts. The univer. al joint connection of the tempo lever 33 with its rock-shaft 3 is shown in detail in Fig. and is composed of an L-shapcd member 33 which is pivotally connected to the tempo lever 33 by a pivot 34; and is pivotalty connected to the rock-shaft 33 by a pivot The forward end of the frame 't thas holes 26, 2'4", 28 and 32 which aline respectively with the holes 26, 2, 2S, and 32, in the crossbar 23, and the expression levers and tempo lever pass through the holes in the front of the frame as well as through the holes in the cross-bar and are thus given a bearing at two points.

The frame l t is formed with upwardly and forwardly projecting curved arms 35 which have inwardly projecting pierced. lugs 36 that receive screws 3'? by means of which the tracker bar 38 is attached to tl arms The outer casing of the tracker box proper incloses the arms 37 and the front portion of the frame 1a and such outer casing which is designated 13 is attached to the frame H by screws 13. The tracker box has at each end a. head which heads are designated respectively 39 and +0, and these heads are secured by screws or other proper fastening devices to the curved arms 35. The head 40 atthe right hand end of the track-er box carries the operating mectn nism of the music roll 1d take-up roll. an the construction of this head and of the operating mechanism will be best uudcrstood by referei'ice to Fig 1. 3, t} and "T of the drawing, to which I will now refer.

Upon the head +t0 is mounted a frame consisting of parallel plates l t, 42 connected by cross-braces 1-3, these plates being formed with alined bearings for the various shafts hereinafter described. It shaft 1 1- is mounted near the upper ends of the plates and this shaft carries a s nocket wheel 4:5 that is fixed on the shaft and a brake-wheel to also fixed on the shaft, a ln-akoshoe t? carried by a spring-arm bearin on this intake wheel and serving to pro nt 5 the shaft: from turi'iing too freely or fron'i. att'ainiuti an inordinately high speed. the spring t-S being attached to the cross-bar t? by rivets .1-9 and the end of the spring which carries the shoe 4:? being free. A second and longitudinally slidable shaft is journaled in the plates 41, 42, and this shaft carries a sprocket-Wheel 51, which is loosely mounted on the shaft and is in vertical alinement with the sproc ct-wheel e15, a chain passing over both sprocket-wheels 15 and 51 and serving to communicate motion from one to the other. The sprocket wheel 51 is loose on the shaft 50 and this shaft carries another sprocket-wheel 53 which is fast on the shaft 50. The sprocket-wheel 51 carries a pin 55 which is adapted to enter a hole 56 formed in the sprocketwheel and the sprocketwvheel carries a pin 57 which is adapted to enter a hole 58 form-ed in the sprocket-wheel 51, these pins and holes con stituting a clutch by means of which, at one position of the sprocket-wheel it is clutched to the sprocket-wheel 51. A rocking lever 59 is journaled in a bracket 60 carried by the plate 42 and this lever has one end extending outwardly from the plate and then upwardly, said outwardly and up wardly extending end terminating in two curved arms 61, 61, which embrace the sprocket-wheel 53, this lever 59 constituting the means by which the sprocket-wheel 53 and the shaft 50 are moved in either direction, so as to engage the wheel 53 with or disengage it from the sprocket-wheel 51. Rocking motion is imparted to the rocking lever 59 by means of a longitudinally movable shipping rod 62 which passes through a hole in the depending arm 59 of the lever 59, and this shipping rod carries two adjustable stops 63 which are adapted to alternately contact with the depei'iding end of the rod 59 of the rocking lever and rock the same in one direction or another ac cordingly as the sprocket-wheel 53 is to be engaged with or disengaged from the sprocket wheel 51. The shipping rod 62 is connected at its inner end to a depending arm 64 carried by the tempo lever so that as the tempo lever 33 is rocked in one direction or another, the shipping rod will be moved longitudinally in one direction or the other. A drive chain 65 passes over the sprocket-wheel 53' and this drive chain after passing over the sprocket-wheel 53 extends horizontally and to the main portion 1 of the apparatus where it receives motion from motor mechanism constituting a portion of said main portion of the apparatus. In its passage over the sprocket-wheel 53 to the main portion of the apparatus, the chain passes over two guiding rollers which are loosely mounted on stub shafts (37, carried by the head 40 and longitudinally movable on said shaf The shaft {tat extends through the plate 1-2 and through the head 4L0 and is formed with a notch tl on its inner end that receives a lug 68 on the end of a stub shaft 69 carried by the music roll 70. The shaft 50 also extends through the in the plate 12 and the head 10, and carries on its inner end a pinion 70, which, at one position of the shaft, meshes with a gear-wheel 71 fixed on a stub shaft 72 carried by the take-up roll 73 and at another position of the shaft 50 is thrown out of gear with said gear wheel 71.

The casing 20 which incloses the above described mechanism mounted on the head 40, has its outer side closed and its inner side open, and said casing carries avertically slidable locking bar T l which is mounted in a slot 75 in the side of the casing, the lower end of the bar passing through a hole 75 in the bottom of the casing and being bent at right angles as shown at to to provide a handle by means of which the bar may be moved longitudinally. The bar 7-1: is sustained and guided in the slot 75 by plates 76 and the said bar carries pins 77, which engage the notches 78 in the plate 41 and serve to hold the casing in position, the inner edge of the open side of the casing fitting; neatly around the outer edge of the head 40.

The parts being emistructed and arranged ianner hereinbefore described, operate in the following manner: In the active position of parts, the tracker box is in the position shown in Fig. 1, and a strip of per forated paper 79 carried by the music roll 70 has its-free end attached to the take-up roll '73 and motion being communicated to the chain (35 from the mechanism of the main apparatus, and the pinion 70 being at this time in mesh with the gear-wheel T1, motion will be communicated to the take-u p roll and the paper wound from the music roll onto the take-up roll, passing over the traclzenbar 38, opening and closing the open ings in the tracker bar in the usual manner, so as to permit the ingress of air and its passage through the tubes 80 to the main apparatus. When the paper has been unrolled from the music roll and all rolled up on the take-up roll, the tempo lever is rocked to the right and a longitudinal movement thereby imparted to the shipper rod (32, which in turn imparts a rocking motion to the lever 59. whereby the shaft 50 is moved longitudinally and the pinion 7O thrown out of gear with the gear wheel 71. This move ment of the shaft 50 also throws the sprocket-wheel 53 into mesh with the sprocket-wheel 51, whereby the sprocketwheel 51 is rotated and motion imparted through the chain to the sprocket-wheel 15, shaft 41 and the music roll. As the sprocket-wheel 51 is considerably larger than the sprocketwheol 45, the shaft -11 will be given a much faster movement than was imparted to the take-up roll, and consequently the music roll will revolve at a much more rapid rate than was given to the take-up roll whereby the strip of paper will be rapidly rewound upon the music roll. A. reverse movement of the tempo lever will throw the pinion 70 into mesh with the gear-wheel 71 and will throw the sprocket-wheel 5 3 out of mesh with the sprocket wheel 51 and restore the parts to the proper position for winding the strip of paper from the music roll. onto the take-up roll. The tempo lever has z considerable 'ange ot n'iovement between those portions of its movement which are required to move the shaft 50 longitudinally. The intermediate movement is utilized to ope ate the tempo mechanism of the main apparatus. The universal. joint between the tempo lever 33 and its rock shaft 33 permits of the tracker l 02; being S\ 'ung downw: idly and inwardly at. whatever position the tempo lerer happens to occupy when the tack box is swung downwardly and thus obviates any danger of bending the tempo lover or its rocleshatts 53 it the tempo lever should happen to left at either oi its extreme positions when the tracker box is turned down.

To turn down the tracker box and swing it under the bars 2, it is only necessary to depress tne handle 1.6 of the bolt 15, this movement releasing the stirrups 18 from en- 'agement with the pins 19, this movement L'. 1 v aving a torsional twist to the spring 19.

c: The tracker box is then lowered, and swung baclqwardly and under the bars so as to be out. ot sight below the l-:ey-board of the instrument, in which position it may be sustained by any ordinary spring-catch.

To restore the tracker box to its first position it is merely swung forward and raised until the frame it is in alinement with the :t'rame 5, the stirrups 18 during the last portion of the upward movement of the frame bearing on the beveled ends of the pins 12 and rocking the bolt 15 against the tension of the spring 19 until the stirrups have slipped over the ends of the pins and thereby lock the t 'aeker box in its elevated position.

It, at any time, it is desired to inspect the The throw oil. the tempo lever on between the points where it. actuates the lever 55) can be readily reggula ed by the adpistment ot the device of the (fllttl'ittittf described i 1. ..n a the combinatnm with stationary supporting means. a frame pivotally attached to said supporting means, pins earred by the sta tienar' supporting means and a spring restrained bolt carried by the frame, said bolt having laterally-extending means for auton'iatically engaging said pins during a move ment at the trame in one direction.

2. in a device o'l. the type described, the combination with stationary suoporting means, and bevehal pins carried by said stationary si pporting means, of a frame pivotally attaehmd to the suggmorttim; means, a rocking bolt carried by said frame, a spring: connected to said bolt, and stirrups carried by said bolt and adapted to engage said beveled pins.

2 The coinbinatimi with a pivoted tl'tltiliti box, a rocking tempo lever carried by said tracker on); and a rocking shatt, said tempo lever and rocking shaft being connected by a universal joint connection.

i. The combination with a tl'itCliOl. box having; a head and driving mechanism carried by said head, of a asing inclosing said driving}; mechanism and a locking bar tarried by said casing and adapted to engage a stationary portion of said mechanism.

in testimony whereof ll, allix my signature in the presence 01'. two witnesses.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I0. 0. 

